


then we'll belong

by roswyrm



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Possibly Pre-Slash, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18004115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roswyrm/pseuds/roswyrm
Summary: Q: Why does my cat tear around the den like a fluffy devil possessed with the irresistible urge to backflip off of couches?A: Simple zest for life.





	then we'll belong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kalgalen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalgalen/gifts).



> title from _Animals Crying_ by Statues of Cats

It’s a slow realisation, one that Azu has been pondering over several weeks, but she’s very sure of her conclusion, now. Sasha Rackett is very cat-like. It’s not even the agility that made Azu think of the comparison, though Sasha’s ability to seemingly always land on her feet is yet another bullet point on Azu’s list of proof. Azu has not known many cats personally, but she understands that they usually dislike outright displays of affection, will not hesitate to scratch you, and can be very self-assured.

And if that doesn’t describe her rogue friend perfectly, Azu doesn’t know what does.

She doesn’t actually mean to _tell_ Sasha, of course. Another thing about cats is that they are very proud creatures. But it just sort of slips out. Sasha is curled into a loveseat, daggers perfectly spread out in front of her as she carefully sharpens them one at a time. Her leather jacket is thrown haphazardly on the floor, and Sasha makes a pleased humming noise as she places a relatively plain dagger in the growing set of ‘sharp enough’s. It sounds kind of like a purr. “You look like a cat,” Azu says with a smile before she can stop herself.

The thing is, Azu is right. Sasha’s pinned her hair up skillfully enough that it’s out of her face, but fluffy black wisps find their way up above her ears. Her spine is so curved that Azu isn’t quite sure she’ll be able to straighten it out again. Sasha’s ears are rounded and inarticulate, which is still a bit of a learning curve for Azu, but she thinks that maybe that was not the right thing to say at all.

Azu isn’t quite sure how to explain herself, though, so she gestures vaguely. “Like a little black cat,” she elaborates. Sasha can’t bristle, but Azu gets the impression that if she could, Azu would be looking at a very bristly Sasha. “Sorry,” she says softly, turning back to her sewing. 

And that’s that for several minutes. But then Sasha mumbles, “You kind of remind me of a dog.” Azu doesn’t look up from her sewing (Grizzop’s jacket, she hasn’t the faintest idea how he ripped it) as she makes an inquisitive hum. Sasha’s whetstone continues as she expands, “You know how big dogs don’t understand how big they are? You do that a lot. And you’re always so excited about things! Like, I bet if you had a tail, it’d never stop wagging.” Sasha’s sharpening pauses. “Also, you like cuddling and stuff. Very doggish.” The only sounds for a moment are the _push-pull_ of the needle and the _vizh vizh vizh_ of the whetstone. And then Sasha mumbles, “So, I guess, we match.” Azu looks up. Sasha has lowered her head, and if her hair was down, it would hide the way she’s got her face twisted in embarrassment.

Azu asks, “Is that a good thing?” and Sasha shrugs. And Sasha’s ears don’t move to indicate _it’s not so bad_ but the rest of her face does, and Azu knows how to read her friend. Azu looks back to her sewing. “I think, if I was a dog, I’d like to be a Labrador.”

Sasha snorts. “You’d be a big dog. Like, one of those massive fluffy ones that’s like, twice the size of Hamid.”

“I’m already twice the size of Hamid. And I don’t like long hair, so I don’t think a lot of fur would be good, either.”

“Are there hairless dogs? Like, I know there are hairless cats, so? Oh, gods, hairless cats are so creepy. They’re like cats, but if cats were part raw chicken. I wouldn’t be a hairless cat, would I?”

“You would be a teacup cat. A teacat.”

“I’m not _that_ small!”

“Absolutely tiny. I could fit Sasha The Cat into my palm.”

“You have big palms!”

The argument ends up going on far longer than either of them could have anticipated. Eventually, they decide that Azu would be a big dog with short fur, Sasha would be an on-the-small-side-of-medium black cat with white ear-tips, Grizzop would be the only cute hairless cat to ever exist, and Hamid is already basically a lizard, so he doesn’t count.


End file.
